Sporting Jax faced Charleston Battery in a key USL Championship Eastern Conference matchup on Saturday, June 20, at Hodges Stadium.
Rain was once again a factor, pushing the match more than two hours back from its original start time.
Sporting Jax battled back from an early deficit but ultimately fell to Charleston Battery, 5-2.
The visitors scored the first three goals of the game, but midfielder Wan Kuzain put Sporting Jax on the board right before halftime. This was Kuzain’s first goal of the season.
Kuzain would go on in the second half to score again when Emil Jääskeläinen steered the ball into the box towards Kuzain, who sent it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Kuzain and Jääskeläinen have preexisting chemistry from their time in the St. Louis CITY system.
“I’ve been playing with Emil for a long time now,” Kuzain said. “We have a good connection; he had a great flick and left a good ball for me to finish.”
Kuzain has logged solid minutes throughout the season and will continue working hard to further his development.
“Hopefully, I can continue to contribute to the team so we can keep on having positive stuff go our way,” he said.
The end result was not in favor of Sporting Jax, but the squad did continue to battle to get the match back within reach.
“Pleased with the players’ fight to get it back to 3-2,” Sporting Jax Head Coach Liam Fox said.
Sporting Jax is still looking to climb out of the bottom spot in the conference standings, and the head coach feels like Saturday’s game was a step in the right direction.
“I’m pleased we scored two goals at home against a very good squad,” said Fox.
Next up, Sporting Jax will be on the road against Loudoun United FC on July 3.
